Martin OXK mod

Skinny Money McGee

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Anyone else do this? The OXK being made out of formica, I find it near impossible to hold, it's so slippery.

Went down to Home Depot and bought some non-skid tape. Cut a few strips with a razor blade and stuck them on. It is a joy to play now. Stays put so well, no need for a strap while standing up.!! Don't know why I didn't do this a long time ago.
 

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Great idea, but I had a thought for those who are wary of fastening anything adhesive to their uke.

Get a few strips of the magnetic vinyl that is used for the removable signs on cars and vans and stick something grippy to the side which will face the player, then secure it to the back of the uke with a few small Neodymium disc magnets on the inside.

Disclaimer:

Do NOT try this if you have a pacemaker!
 
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formica, really??? like the countertops? or are you just calling laminate, formica?
 
formica, really??? like the countertops? or are you just calling laminate, formica?

oxk is formica. for real. not laminate.
 
at the moment oasis lites. I may consider trying martins on it in the future. i havent liked m600s as much for picking.
 
so, do you guys like them? I saw a demo video and it sounds really bright. Are you using Martin strings?

m600's on mine. I really like the OXK a lot. Being made of formica, it's hard to believe how good it sounds. It's not far off the solid wood Martins. I stuff it in a saddle bag on motorcycle trips, and take it camping. Martin calls it "HPL" high pressure laminate, which is exactly what formica is.
 
Actually, I've just figured out that it's made of the same material my mother's floor is made of, with the wood pattern printed on to it.
 
I have lots of leftover flooring in my garage, I'll have to go into the business!

lmn8.jpg
 
I played a steel string 7/8 Martin Formica guitar today, and it sounded more like a guitar than the Taylor GS next to it. Wood is my material of choice, but Martin did a great job with the voicing of Formica.
 
Some of the martinoids on this forum seem to really love the sound the OXK puts out. Even seen claims it has the most vintage sound of the current martins in production.

One thing to keep an eye on: I was talking to the official certified martin luthier in denver and he said he sees a lot of martin HPL guitars with warped tops from string tension. He said he wished martin would either fix the HPL with proper bracing or discontinue the line. The OXK I have here also displays some minor warping as well on the top. If you have one, do not stick high tension strings on it! I'm not even sure I should have the oasis strings on mine.

So this thread was supposed to be about cool non slip stuffs. The cool thing about the HPL is that I would assume its safe to use floor cleaner on the oxk to remove any glue or residue. Pretty powerful stuff.
 
I had the same issue with my Flukes. I got their grip pads and that cured the problem big time. Those pads they make really grip nicely. Not sure what they are made of because they feel soft to the touch. Comfortable to play without a shirt.
 
Some of the martinoids on this forum seem to really love the sound the OXK puts out. Even seen claims it has the most vintage sound of the current martins in production.

One thing to keep an eye on: I was talking to the official certified martin luthier in denver and he said he sees a lot of martin HPL guitars with warped tops from string tension. He said he wished martin would either fix the HPL with proper bracing or discontinue the line. The OXK I have here also displays some minor warping as well on the top. If you have one, do not stick high tension strings on it! I'm not even sure I should have the oasis strings on mine.

So this thread was supposed to be about cool non slip stuffs. The cool thing about the HPL is that I would assume its safe to use floor cleaner on the oxk to remove any glue or residue. Pretty powerful stuff.

Out of the 11 "X-series" HPL guitar models Martin makes, only 1 is an HPL top. The rest are solid spruce tops. Martin says: Top Bracing Pattern: A-Frame ''X-1'' Don't know what that means in comparison to a plain all wood D-28 "Standard X bracing" for example.

They make 3 all black CPA5 cutaway models that are all HPL. 1 has "Hybrid X scalloped" Bracing, and the other two have "X Series "X" bracing.

Next time I'm over at Elderly, being the highest volume Martin dealer in the world, they should have seen some if it's a problem.


**** Edit *****
Just found this explanation on a forum how Martin changed the bracing pattern. Might explain what your Luthier in Denver was talking about. I don't know if this was the fix, or has become the problem. This forum post was in 2010
See the attached picture
 

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Thanks for the link to Formica, TBK. I followed several other links from there, and have learned a lot more than I need to know about laminates and wood pulp - and have lost half an hour of my life.

Isn't the internet wonderful?!

John Colter.
 
Thanks for the link to Formica, TBK. I followed several other links from there, and have learned a lot more than I need to know about laminates and wood pulp - and have lost half an hour of my life.

Lol, but you stimulated some brain cells in the process, so not all is lost
 
To be honest, the flooring at The Mother Kahuna's house is awesome. Tough as anything and looks great. You can print the "wood" with any photographic texture and it looks very realistic. It's also the densest material I've seen. I'd be happy to have a uke made out of it.
 
I used to have an Martin LX1, the Little Martin with the solid spruce top. Nice little guitar for what it was, but I never cared for the weight of the Stratabond necks Martin uses on their HPL instruments (and now on their 1-Series guitars, too). It made the guitar heavy and unbalanced. I feel the same way about the OXK uke. YMMV.

- FiL
 
I used to have an Martin LX1, the Little Martin with the solid spruce top. Nice little guitar for what it was, but I never cared for the weight of the Stratabond necks Martin uses on their HPL instruments (and now on their 1-Series guitars, too). It made the guitar heavy and unbalanced. I feel the same way about the OXK uke. YMMV.

- FiL

I never had a problem lifting the stratabond neck up... lol

but seriously, why would a stratabond neck be any heavier then solid mahogany or maple? It's not like stratabond is made out of iron wood or hickory. I believe it's generally made from Birch which is lighter than maple and about the same weight as mahogany. The amount of laminate glue used after it's been pressed together and squeezed out couldn't amount to much, I wouldn't think. We could write Martin and ask them.
 

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